No Preditions this time around - 2010

After failing again, I have thought about ending this predictions regime. Definitely I didn't like to write it last year, and won't be doing so writing for another year. Really I am also in no mood to wish a great year ahead. But still its an occasion where we sometimes feel nostalgic, somewhat special. With this I believe I need to wish everyone a great New Year.

Some things should not be done on mood. They have to be done, because that's what everyone wants. That's what I want. So a great new year wish is not just a wish but what I really want. And most probably what everyone wants. A wish sometimes brings cheer to someone who actually was pretty much down. And I will definitely be glad if my wish actually helped someone. Because that's what I want a great wish.

This year was a great year on the personal level, for family & friends. Almost all of my friends are married and that means no more meaningful bachelor get-togethers. Hell some guys have even stopped calling me on my phone. Now, I have to call them up to speak (Darn). Earlier, I was the family man and I restrained from calling others. Now, I am calling these guys wantedly (to kill time ofcourse). Fun apart, definitely a great year. It had its quabbles, like, price raise, economic recession, etc., but still a very good year. Just for the fun that happened in the past year, we have to be very much grateful for the Lord.

And I am expecting more great things in the future (2010) as well. So,

Let us wish a warm, happy and ecstatic 2010, with wellness, prosperity, improvement, empowerment. Not only physically, but also mentally. And also be more innovative with our daily lives.

The last bit is for my ideology that if we produce something valuable, we would always survive in any kind of adversity. So to be innovative and improvising the hell out of what we know will probably save us from some harsh realities --> let us be happy and just do it.

Is it easier to be flamboyant ?

I don't really like to be flamboyant. Truly this doesn't augur when you are new. I hate to be flamboyant personally, because that creates a lot of pressure on yourself to continue that form. It is easy to advertise yourself as the best of the best, but being the best of the best is not that easy. I would rather be subtle and gain the trust and loyalty of the crowd through continuous and consistent performance with stability and reliability than to launch one day with out-of-the-world hype and then fizzling out in a corner.

Take for example, Cuil Search Engine - supposed to kick the butt out of Google. It launched with such fanfare and statistics that everyone went 'Ga-Ga' over it, even TechCrunch. It immediately went kaput and made everybody point to Cuil as How not to do a launch. Now almost a full year into the launch, we don't even see a slender of a news from it, of course not even a second PR after that disastrous launch.

For the subtle launch take the launch of Google. It almost took them more than two years to do the first press release, which I believe did not carry that much of hype. I must have been doing the final-year of my Under-Graduate course at that time. I didn't even had a knowledge about Google. I was accessing Internet for the past 1 year at that time. I primarily used Yahoo.com for search. Until I joined in at my first job @ AdventNet, I didn't know about Google. Then at the job, I heard everyone talking about doing search on Google. I tried to use ask.com, and lots of other search engines, but Google grew upto numero uno in terms of search. We (almost all of my colleagues) would get help from Google and have loved to call the help like, "Ask Google Uncle". If anybody comes for help regarding any kind of coding, we would try to be helpful. In most occasions, if we were busy or if we didn't know the answer, we would ask them have you asked Google Uncle, and we will send them to the expert.

Google has been providing a continuous, consistent and stable performance and is also very reliable. I am not sure how to put it, the above lines seem like right out of the fan book of a Google fan.

But the thought of the blog is not about Google or Cuil, it is about people and how they present themselves. We all like Heroes in the Movies. If a hero has a flamboyant entry we applaud him (Take 007 Movies', the Gun Barrel shot). When he completes the final assault in the climax of the movie, it is the ultimate reach of flamboyance (Take 007 single-handedly taking down an entire troop of baddies with such timing a precision such there is nothing which is lost, sometimes not even his coolers/suit). But the fact remains that Movie Heroes play a script, the script which is supposed to be flamboyant with the all the timing/precision needed for an exact replica of what the audience want.

In real life, there is no 007, there is no Hero. Even if there are Heroes, they are not Heroes forever, and definitely they were not as flamboyantly launched. Hence, it pays not to be flamboyant but, be continuously consistent. When you are reliable, it of no matter how you launch (either with much fanfare, or of a lesser degree), you will always end up being a darling.

PS: This doesn't mean you never launch, The only thing worse than starting something and failing... is NOT starting something.

Be Real, be yourself, and do hard-smart work and you shall succeed.

Tendulkar's Gem

I have been highly critical of Tendulkar in the recent past, but, on Sunday I was in awe. The man is there as I believed always. He is capable of destroying the bowling attack with as much disdain as he once was.

The best thing about his innings was how he paced his innings. And how he put in that extra punch, after he reached his century. He is the man, he is the legend. Sometimes we just expect so much from him.

If history is right, we were simply toooooo much dependent on him for victory. The 2003 world cup was Tendulkar's world cup, except in the Finals. He was a class act in that world cup and had great contribution for the team in it. I have seen him better that effort only yesterday. This is one of his best innings after a long time. He has scored a lot of hundreds in the recent past, but this one was and is certainly special.

In the recent past, Sachin is not really missed on/off the field. This has given him more scope to play at his strengths and as well experiment when it is needed. He is a definite force and is a great asset for the world cricket as a whole. When he hangs his boots, he will be remembered and worshipped for a long time to come.

I just wish he is also able make himself added as a elite member to a world-cup winning squad.

Great game Sachin, you are GAME !